───● The Middle School Basketball Club Girl Becomes Weird ●○●
A month has passed since I started playing basketball with the older guy.
Lately, playing basketball with him is just so much fun.
Today is Friday. Once this fifth-period class is over, I can see him.
The basketball club I joined just so happened to have Fridays off, which makes me so happy because I can go to him without any hesitation.
The classroom, probably due to it being a Japanese class right after lunch, has a few kids dozing off here and there.
I was too excited about what was coming next to be sleepy at all.
As I was feeling giddy, the chime signaling the end of class rang.
Yes! I can go to the park!
“Alright, class rep, lead the closing greeting~”
The class rep gave the command, and the teacher left.
Now I just have to wait for our homeroom teacher to come, and then I can go home!
As I was stuffing my textbooks and other things into my bag, already getting ready to leave, Rika-chan from the basketball club called out to me.
“Yuka~ Yuusuke-kun said he wants to do some extra practice today, so a few of us are going to the community center gym. You should come too!”
“Ah~… um…”
Yuusuke-kun is a boy from the basketball club.
He’s not that good at basketball, but he talks to the girls a lot and is popular with them regardless of class or club.
I don’t dislike him, but we’re not close enough to go out of our way to talk…
More importantly than any of that, I’ve decided to play basketball with my onii-san today.
“Sorry! I have plans today!”
“Ehh~! You said the same thing last week and went home~, what’s up?”
“That’s~~ umm~~…”
Crap, what should I say?
If I say, I’m going to play basketball one-on-one with a handsome, super-skilled older guy, I feel like there are only two outcomes: they’ll either say I’m delusional, or they’ll demand I introduce them…
“Um… to play basketball…”
“Ehh~? Then why not just play with all of us?”
“Um, I have a promise with someone! So, I’m sorry!”
I clapped my hands together in apology.
I know I’m not being very sociable. But this time I spend playing basketball with him, is the one thing I can’t ever give up…!
“Hmph, fine. But if someone else gets close to Yuusuke-kun, it’ll be too late to do anything about it later~!”
“Ah, that’s fine.”
I think he’s a nice person, but he’s not my type…
I successfully managed to shake off my classmate and left the school.
Ever since I met him… or more accurately, since I fell in love with him, every day has seemed more colorful.
I’m sure he doesn’t see me as a romantic interest right now.
But that’s okay.
For now, I’ll do my best to appeal to him, and when I’m in high school, if he starts to see me that way… I’d be happy.
“Doesn’t Yuka seem a little weird lately?”
“I know! She hums during break time, and she goes home right after class ends…”
“Hey~ I was thinking… maybe Yuka is meeting up with a guy from another school…?”
“Ehh~ no way!?”
“No, but it’s possible… Lately, the degree of her smirking while she’s reading her books in class seems to have increased.”
“Does that have anything to do with it…?”
“Hey, let’s confront Yuka next time. Ask her what she’s doing when she goes home so early!”
Crap, crap! I spent too much time checking myself in the mirror at home!
If he’s following his usual routine, he should already be at the park.
I run to the park in a huge hurry. In the end, running like this will just mess up my hair, so there was no point in checking it~.
It’s completely spring now, and the sun has gotten quite strong.
As I run, I can feel sweat trickling down my forehead. It would be the worst if he thought I smelled sweaty… I did bring deodorant, though…!
As I run, I hear the usual sound of a ball bouncing on the ground. There’s no mistake. He’s already there!
I stop for a moment in the shade of a tree, take out the deodorant spray from my backpack, and spray it on my clothes.
I take out the small hand mirror I brought in my pouch and check my hair.
It’s not weird, right. Okay.
I take a deep breath to calm my ragged breathing from running, and I head to the court.
He’s playing basketball.
His handling is as beautiful as ever.
Ah, his clothes today are cool too…
A loose-fitting style that boys my age could never pull off.
Probably with exercise in mind, his pants are a loose-fitting capri length. His top is a simple short-sleeved T-shirt, but I bet he was wearing the vest that’s hanging on the bench until just now. He’s so cool…
Oh, stop it. I could watch him forever, but I came here to play basketball with him today…!
I have to say something.
“H-Hey, Onii-san!”
“Hm?”
The guy, who was just about to go into his shooting form, turns to look at me in response to my voice. His profile was cool, but his front is even cooler.
…That’s not it, um, I have to say, let’s play basketball…
Even though we’ve met so many times, when I actually see him, I can’t seem to say what I want to say…
Ugh—I practiced so many times at home…
I take a deep breath.
“T-Today, I will be victorious! And… you will cede this place to me!!”
Aargh, why does it always come out like this!?
I want to be more honest!
“So you’ve come, little one.”
“I’m not a little one! My name is Yuka, and I’m in middle school now!!”
Lately, he’s been teasingly calling me ‘little one.’ He’s acting more familiar with me, and I think we’ve gotten closer.
But I have to correct him on this ‘little one’ thing…! So that he’ll see me that way someday, definitely.
“T-Today, I will take this place back…!”
I have no intention of taking it back.
If anything, I wish this time could last forever.
“Hahaha, have you ever won against me, even once, young lady~?”
Oh, I’ve been upgraded to ‘young lady.’ I’m kind of happy about that.
“T-Today, I have a secret plan!”
This isn’t a lie.
I have a skill I’ve been practicing during my club activities. Today, I’m going to use it and score at least one point on him!
Of course, we have a promise that if I beat him, he won’t come to this place anymore, but honestly, beating him is extremely difficult. But that’s precisely why I can challenge him with all my might.
The guy laughs, looking amused. Ugh… every single thing he does is too picturesque…!
“Wh-what are you spacing out for! We’re playing one-on-one, r-right?”
W-Was that a little too cheeky?
I thought I might have sounded too impertinent, and my tone trailed off at the end.
“Alright~. But make sure you warm up properly, okay? You’ll get injured.”
He’s worried about me… The fact that he is seeps warmly into my heart.
“O-Of course. I’ve already finished that.”
“Eh? You just got here, didn’t you…?”
I ran here because I wanted to see him, so I’m pretty much warmed up, and I did a quick warm-up when I was checking my appearance earlier.
So, it’s okay!
I take the ball out of my backpack and bounce-pass it to him, getting into a defensive stance.
He always uses my ball size when we play basketball. He’s such a kind person.
“You’re in a hurry… Alright, here I go~”
He’s coming…! My mind instantly switches to basketball mode.
He’s an all-rounder. His handling, his shooting. He even has skills under the basket.
Having to keep all of that in mind is really difficult on defense.
He does a light crossover and cuts in sharply to the side.
He’s fast…! But I know he’s that fast, so…!
“I won’t let you…!”
I quickly circle around him.
If I can’t at least do this much, I can’t be a worthy opponent for him.
“This is as far as you go!”
“Ah!”
His decision was swift.
The moment I caught up, he saw that my center of gravity was still unstable from moving, and he immediately went for a mid-range jumper.
His shooting motion was so fast that I was too late to go for the block…
“…!”
The moment he jumped.
He was wearing a loose-fitting T-shirt.
As he jumped, that T-shirt rode up.
Revealing his abdomen.
Supple abs that showed he clearly worked out regularly.
“Alright, that’s the first point~… Hmm? Yuka-chan?”
My mind was supposed to have been in basketball mode, but in that one instant, all of my brain’s capacity was taken up.
E-It’s too lewd… something like that…!
My heart was pounding so loudly.
“…What’s wrong?”
“Haeh…”
Before I knew it, he was standing in front of me.
(…!)
Th-this is bad. If he finds out I was staring at his stomach, he’ll never play basketball with me again!
I-I have to calm down now.
B-but I can’t get that image out of my head…
“Hey, your face is red. Are you getting heatstroke? Want to rest on the bench?”
“Ah, ahhh!? No, no! I’m fine! Q-Quickly, give me the ball! I’ll tie it up right away!”
Th-that was close!!
It was truly a feast for the eyes… I mean, a poison to the eyes…!
I get flustered when I’m confronted with the fact that I’m playing basketball with such a wonderful guy.
Deep breath. Inhale, exhale.
I have to focus now. I have to show him the results of my practice this week…!
I woke up to the sound of a basketball clanging off the rim.
Wait… I was…
I was playing basketball with him, and then…
(…!)
I remembered. My feet got tangled, and I fell on top of him…
I fainted after being in a state that was basically like being hugged by him…
S-So embarrassing!
He definitely thinks I’m a weirdo now…!
I hurriedly sat up and saw a folded towel where my head had been. He must have placed it there when he laid me down.
Even in a situation like this, a feeling of happiness welled up inside me.
I looked up.
He was practicing his shooting.
“Hmph…!”
A shot from near the 3-point line.
The ball, with a beautiful backspin, drew an arc and… swoosh, went right through the net.
(He’s so cool…)
Of course, I’ve come to like him as a person, but he’s especially cool when he’s playing basketball.
The guy, having retrieved the ball, noticed me.
“Oh, you’re awake. Are you feeling okay? Yuka.”
My heart skipped a beat.
H-He just called me by my first name, right? It’s the first time he’s done that…! I’m so happy…!
“I-I’m okay. I’m sorry for causing you trouble…”
“It’s totally fine! It’s getting late anyway, and I’m heading home, so let’s go home together.”
Eh… I thought, and looked at the park clock. The hands were pointing to 4:30.
It seems I was passed out for quite a long time…
This is the worst… I wanted to play more basketball with him…
That feeling must have shown on my face.
“Hey, I’ll be here again next week. You’re going to take this place back, right?”
He must have noticed I was down, because he gently patted me on the shoulder.
I’m so happy that he’s trying to cheer me up and making a promise for next week, but the distance, the distance is so close it’s making my heart pound…
“Ah, I’ll lend you that towel. You’re probably sweaty, so use it to wipe yourself down before you go home. I have another one!”
“Eh…”
I looked at the neatly folded towel on the bench.
He’s going to lend this… to me?
“See ya then! …Oh, and you messed up this time, but I think the roll is a good move! If you can roll at that speed, I don’t think a single defender could stop you. So, be confident, okay!”
“Later!” he said, and walked away.
…He says everything I want to hear.
He left.
And what was left in my hand was his towel.
I pressed down on my racing heart… and first, I picked it up.
It was an ordinary sports towel.
And yet.
“Haah…! Haah…!”
My breathing became ragged.
I’m sorry, Onii-san, it seems I’m a bad girl…
I buried my face in it.
Pretending to wipe my face.
His scent filled my senses.
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